United States AttorneyNorthern District of Texas

Restaurant Owner Arrested for Soliciting Individual to Set Fire to His Restaurant in Weatherford, Texas, in Arson for Profit Scheme

(BEAUMONT, TX) United States Attorney John L. Ratcliffe announced today that the ring leader in the drug investigation known as "Operation Kings Court" has been sentenced to 275 months in federal prison in the Eastern District of Texas.

JOSE REYES-GARCIA, 32, of Nacogdoches, pleaded guilty on November 20, 2006 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana and was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thad Heartfield.

According to information presented in court, an investigation began in 2002 into a drug ring that spread from the Texas/Mexico border to the Lufkin/Nacogdoches area, and even farther into Oklahoma, Alabama, and Georgia. Undercover law enforcement officers and cooperating individuals purchased weapons and drugs from various co-conspirators up until early summer of 2006.

Numerous conspirators in the drug investigation have already been sentenced to federal prison. These include:

Juan Garcia, 24, of Nacogdoches, 188 months;

Gilberto Vega, 31, of Lufkin, 210 months;

Rodolfo Aguilar, 29, of Lufkin, 235 months;

Jairo Romero Frausto, 27, of Nacogdoches, 97 months;

Raul Gutierrez Perez, Jr., 30, of Lufkin, 188 months;

Oscar Aparicio Solares, 44, of Nacogdoches, 120 months;

Richard Solis, 27, of Lufkin, 70 months;

Christian Moyeda, 20, of Lufkin, 63 months;

Yesika Carrillo, 28, of Nacogdoches, 48 months;

Miguel Canedo, 38, of Houston, 168 months;

Javier Lopez, 29, of Nacogdoches, 33 months;

Ruben Espejo-Lopez, 27, of Nacogdoches, 135 months;

Pablo Pasqual, 25, of Nacogdoches, 30 months;

Victor Scott Ingram, 41, of Arcadia, California, 37 months;

Alfredo Olmeda, 36, of Nacogdoches, 24 months;

Juan Andrade, 31, of Lennox, California, 30 months; and

Juan Antonio Ramos, 20, of Nacogdoches, 57 months.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Nacogdoches Police Department, the Nacogdoches Sheriff’s Office and the Lufkin Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reynaldo P. Morin.

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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives United States Department of Justice